The Deeper Feelings
by BlueSpottedDog
Summary: How I believe Janto started. This is set between the end of Cyberwoman and it ends just before the start of They Keep Killing Suzie. So, spoilers for Cyberwoman, Countrycide, Greeks Bearing Gifts and also a small spoiler for Fragments.


**A/N: So I wrote a thing. I do that sometimes. This time, I wrote a Janto thing. I'm up to the last episode of Season 3 and to combat my sadness over the end of Janto, I decided to write about the beginning of Janto. At least, the beginning of Janto in my eyes. **

It had been three years since their first meeting. Jack remembered it like it was yesterday. Despite how annoying he had found Ianto, he couldn't stop thinking about him. Every time he saw Mwfanwy flying around, his eyes always wandered to where ever Ianto was. Ianto had this way of weaselling himself into people's lives and making his mark. It wasn't their first meeting when this happened for Jack either. It was their third. Something about having Ianto pressed against him after nearly getting killed by a pterodactyl made Jack's heart leap.

When he woke Ianto with what could have been a kiss but was more likely to be considered CPR, Jack's heart leapt again. The way Ianto looked up at him in the few seconds it took him to remember what was going on was something that Jack would never forget.

The only problem now was that Jack couldn't actually do anything about it. This wasn't usually a problem for Jack, but killing somebody's half cyberwoman girlfriend is not usually the way to get into their pants. But he had to kill her. He had to protect his team, even if it meant that he would lose Ianto.

Except he didn't lose him. At least, not from Torchwood.

During and after his suspension, Ianto refused to talk to him. Jack wasn't surprised and all that offended by that since he had killed his girlfriend. He had expected the silence and the glares and being ignored.

The first time they took Ianto out on a mission with them, Jack thought Ianto might finally give him the time of day again. And he was right. Ianto seemed a bit more friendly with everyone again and was enjoying being out in the field with them. Everything was going great until their campfire talk turned to the last person they had kissed. It took Jack a minute too long to realise who Ianto's last kiss was and by then it was too late to stop the conversation.

When he felt Ianto's eyes on him, Jack glanced up and saw the look on Ianto's face. Underneath all of the sorrow and the disappointment, Jack saw something else. Something he hadn't seen before. Something that made Jack want to rush over there and kiss the hell out of Ianto. But he didn't. He couldn't. Not yet.

When Ianto disappeared with Tosh, Jack tried not to be really worried about it. Gwen and Owen were always disappearing and they were in the middle of nowhere. He was surely fine and Jack just needed to calm down.

Except that Ianto wasn't fine. The kid finally told them what they needed to know and they found Ianto and Tosh. They weren't dead, they were still in one piece, but they weren't fine. Ianto was about to become food and Tosh didn't look so hot. Jack didn't even think twice about firing at all of the cannibals. Nobody was allowed to lay a finger on Ianto without Jack's permission. It was common knowledge and these people did not have his permission.

Finally they were all safety back at the Hub again. Jack didn't even get a thanks from Ianto or a goodbye as he watched the Welsh man rush out the door.

He wasn't surprised when Ianto walked in at eight o'clock the next morning and started making coffee like he hadn't almost been eaten by people yesterday. Jack knew the others wouldn't be in until at least nine (ten for Gwen, if she woke up when her alarm went off), so he thought this would a good time to talk to Ianto about why he killed Lisa and what had happened yesterday.

But before Jack had a chance to go and find Ianto, a coffee was placed on the desk in front of him followed by a "your coffee, sir". Jack looked up and grabbed Ianto's wrist as the man turned to leave. "Wait. We need to talk." Ianto stopped and turned to face his boss. "I don't think so, sir." Jack watched as Ianto tried to tug his wrist out of Jack's grip with a faint smile on his lips. "It won't take long. You'll have enough time to make coffee for everyone else."

Jack couldn't help but notice the look of annoyance that passed over Ianto's face as he yanked his hand away from Jack and sat down in the chair on the other side of the desk. He didn't even have to be able to read minds to know that Ianto was still really pissed off about what Jack did to Lisa. Maybe one day the younger man would realise he had no other choice.

"How are you feeling, Ianto?"

"Fine, sir."

"Are you sure? You nearly got eaten by people yesterday."

"I'm fine, sir."

"You know, you can call me Jack."

"I know, sir."

"Do you plan on saying more than three word sentences at all today, Ianto?"

"Probably not, sir."

"Alright, fine. I wanted to talk to you about what happened with your girlfriend."

"Lisa."

"Yes, Lisa."

"What about Lisa?"

"I just want you to know that I'm sorry for shooting her."

"Really, sir?"

Jack decided to ignore Ianto's sarcastic remark and continue.

"I had no choice, Ianto. She was going to kill the others. I am in charge of keeping them safe as much as I am in charge of keeping you safe."

Ianto didn't say anything this time and settled on glaring at the floor in front of his feet.

"I wish there was something else that I could have done. Anything. I didn't want to hurt you. I never want to hurt you. But she was messing with your mind. Manipulating you. I couldn't let her do that to you."

Jack finished speaking and relaxed back into his chair. He had said all that he needed to and now it was up to Ianto to forgive him.

He had expected Ianto to start breaking things or yell, but instead, Ianto got up and walked out, mumbling to himself about Jack being an idiot and "what do you mean you never want to hurt me?"

Jack busied himself with paperwork and yelling at Gwen and Owen whenever they started flirting in the office for the rest of the day. Ianto never spoke to him when he delivered his coffee every four hours and Jack never spoke to him. He never missed the looks that passed over Ianto's face as he walked in and out of the room. The looks of sadness, grief and a faint hint of love.

The next day they found a skeleton and an alien artefact that Jack spent the day examining. He didn't look up when Ianto brought his coffees in. He didn't look up when Gwen and Owen smashed something on Tosh's desk. He didn't look up when Tosh stormed out in the middle of the day and did not return. He didn't look up when Gwen and Owen left together after Owen finished examining the body.

He did look up when Ianto walked in hours after everybody else had left. He watched him walk in and listened as he started asking about the artefact. He ignored all of Ianto's questions and searched his eyes for some kind of indication of why he was really here.

When he finally saw it, he put down the artefact, walked across the room to where Ianto was standing and kissed him. It wasn't a long kiss, nor was it a steamy kiss. It was a romantic kiss and Jack didn't feel an ounce of hurt when Ianto pulled away after a few minutes and silently walked out of the room.

The next morning, Ianto came in at eight o'clock again and brought Jack his coffee at five past eight. Neither of them mentioned the kiss. Neither of them needed to.

Jack nearly threw his pile of paperwork at Gwen and Owen when Tosh walked out yet again after talking to both of them. Their flirting was annoying and unnecessary. It was clear they were sleeping together, something the whole office did not need to know about.

Ianto came back into Jack's office that night after Gwen and Owen left. Jack didn't protest when Ianto came around his side of the desk, climbed onto his lap and kissed the hell out of him. He had a sneaky feeling that a lot of this was stemming from the hurt he was feeling over Lisa, but some part of it had to be because of deeper feeling, which could take Ianto a long time to properly decipher.

After over an hour of kissing and feeling each other up, Ianto pulled away, climbed off of Jack's lap and silently walked out yet again. Again, Jack didn't care. Ianto was making progress and that was all that mattered to him.

Ianto smiled at Jack when he handed him his coffee at five past eight the next morning. Jack grinned in return and thanked him.

It turned out Owen had misidentified the body, somehow thinking it was a woman instead of a man. Jack made a comment to Ianto about it as he passed the man on the way back to his office. The huge smile on Ianto's face made Jack want to kiss him right there and then. Instead he raised his eyebrow, grinned and headed back to his office.

Tosh started asking him questions about Philoctetes, which Jack realised was a little strange. He's not sure how the behaviour fits in with Gwen and Owen's weird flirting and Tosh storming out all the time, but he lets it slide.

They have sex for the first time that night. Jack can see how pent up Ianto is when he walks in and it only takes ten minutes after that until they make it to Jack's bed. It's time like these that Jack is glad that he lives in the Hub.

It's after Ianto walks into work the next morning and brings him his coffee that he realises why Tosh was being so weird. He has finally worked out what the artefact is and all the pieces just fell together after that. When Tosh brings Mary into the Hub, he explains to everyone what has been going on and puts a stop to it all.

After talking to Tosh, offering her the pendant and making sure she was okay, Jack sends everyone home and gives up on trying to do his paperwork for the day. Ianto brings him one last cup of coffee which turns into them having sex again.

The coffee goes cold on Jack's desk as Jack stares at the man asleep beside him. He can't help but reach out and touch Ianto's face as he thinks about how long it took them to finally get to this point.

Jack is so distracted by his own thoughts that he doesn't even notice Ianto waking up under his touch.

"I'm so glad that I met you, sir."

Jack swears he's hearing things as his attention returns to Ianto again only to find him still asleep.

Sometime during the night, Jack gave up trying to sleep and instead worked on all of the stupid paperwork that he was supposed to have done a month ago. At five past eight, the smell of coffee wafts into the room and Jack looks up to see Ianto bringing him his coffee.

A look passes between them as Ianto sets the coffee down on the desk and gives Jack a quick nod before walking out. To anybody else, the look would have meant nothing. But to them, the look meant the start of what would be a really great adventure.


End file.
